Tengu
by xAriaMayx
Summary: Aurai is a demon slayer with a haunting past. Driven by longing for something more (and also financial needs) she finds herself at Fairy Tail. Will she find all of the answers to her past? Will her friends be accepting of who she really is? Join Aurai to find out who she is and what secret her body holds, along with coping with a confusing dragon slayer. LaxusxOC!
1. Chapter 1

Hi there, I'm Aria :) I decided to try my hand at writing a Fairy Tail OC story. Here's the first chapter, and I know it's pretty glum but I promise it'll pick up in the next chapter and I hope to hear some constructive criticism too! Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this fanfic!

(P.s.: I don't own Fairy Tail!)

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Chapter 1

She woke up, head pounding and body sore. She recognized the hardwood flooring of a place too familiar. She smelled a cacophony of turmoil, scents that were contradicting: home, ash, blood, fire. Her hearing hadn't come back yet, all that resounded was a high pitch tone. Her hand touched something wet, something sticky that felt foreign.

As she rolled her body to see the ceiling, something in her side cut deeper into her. Screaming out, she slowly wrapped a hand around the object and pulled. She brought the object into view and wondered why it looked familiar. Had she seen it before? A face pushed itself into the forefront of her memories. She realized with a start that it had been someone's that she had held dear to her. He was like a brother she never had.

She had looked up to him for as long as she could remember, he was her rock. His golden hair always shone and blue eyes always knew. He had been the one to find her abandoned in a forest on one of his jobs. She was just a girl then, no older than three.

He had taken her to his guild, where she had eventually opened up to everyone and they in turn looked out for her, helped her develop into a fine young lady. But she had quickly realized that she was different from all of them. They were a merchant guild, and she had discovered that her body held magic. Not knowing much about magic or how to use it, she had confided in her makeshift family seeing if they could help her. They tried all they could to help train her, and eventually she could manage a few spells.

After a while of coming to know her power, she had ventured to find more answers. Searching libraries and asking elders, she found more information about how to control her magic. The longer time went on, the more she could feel her magic growing, and then it became problematic. The more power she had, the less she could control it.

The first time that she tried an advanced spell, she found herself waking up alone in the middle of nowhere. She had no recollection of how it happened or how long it had been. She found her way back to the guild and they had told her that they hadn't seen her for two days. That's when she decided not to use her spells anymore.

Little did she know, her actions only fueled the flame. She would find herself going to bed one second and then waking up inside of the guild the next day, even with her blacking out, no one else could tell. She would act like normal and then suddenly not know how she got there or what day it was. But this was just the tip of the iceberg.

About a month after she found herself slipping in and out of control of her own actions, the voice started. She thought it was just the voice that everyone had, the one that they think with, the one that makes comments which should not be said aloud. But she had realized that the new one was accompanying the one that she felt was hers. It told her stories, of older days and what purpose she served, but she always doubted that she was here to slay such things like demons. It had told her what her real name was, not the plain one the guild had given her. She did like the sound of her supposed real name, Aurai. The voice had told her that it's what you call daughters to the gods of the winds. She definitely thought that sounded better than 'Marie', as the guild called her.

Coming back to her senses, she stared at the wood ceiling that poured ash like snowflakes down from the gaping hole in the middle of it.

" _Aurai. It's time for you to come back to your body._ " The voice whispered in a hiss.

Groaning in displeasure, she sat up on her elbows, to which her side protested but she held firm. Pushing aside the discomfort, she quickly pushed herself off of the floor, hand releasing the foreign object that she woke up with. The 'clinking' sound of hitting the floor startled her and her eyes flew to see what was dropped. A short sword lay at her feet.

Blood covered both the blade and hilt. Her hands trembled at the sight, a slight warmth coming back to her side and chest. She looked down at herself, a long slash adorned her chest right under her collar bones. Her eyes traveled down to her stomach and found the puncture wound from the sword. The sword that belonged to her savior. She knew it was because he always had it with him, the short sword that she bought him for his birthday.

"Sam," she whispered, eyes wide in wonder. Why was his sword in her abdomen? How could it possibly make its way into her side without someone plunging it in on purpose?

She remembered then what she saw before she had been distracted by the sword. Bodies. Her guild members' bodies lay in random. Some were missing appendages, others were bloodied and bruised. In the midst of panic rushing throughout her body, she heard a groan.

Her head whipped around, eyes falling on a body that was moving. He was trying to sit up against a nearby pillar.

"Sam!" She called and rushed to his side at once. At first, she was overcome with relief in seeing her beloved brother figure still intact but as she got closer, she saw the real damage that was dealt to him. Her hand went to cradle his head as she helped him get comfortable. "What happened?"

Looking up into her tearing eyes he said, "A demon, Marie. A demon appeared and started just killing us one by one, I couldn't help at all. None of us have magic so it made quick work of us." He looked around with dull eyes, clearly in shock from the attack. "Hey, I think my legs are broken, do you think you'll be able to heal them?" His wry smile broke her heart, she knew he was going through shock right now and didn't want to plunge him back into reality.

"Of course, I'll try to heal them." She lifted her shaky hands to hover over his legs and glanced back over his body. He had massive cuts through his chest and slices down his thighs, his nose looked broken and he was missing a few fingers on his left hand.

Crying loudly, she looked him in the eyes, momentarily forgetting his broken legs. "Sam.." She choked out.

His eyes were half open when he met her gaze again, "Yeah?" His golden hair now looked a bit dingy, covered in dirt and ash and his blue eyes weren't clear, they were missing the usual warmth and comfort.

"I-I…" She trailed off, not being able to say the words. She knew, she just didn't know if he knew. That his right leg had been sliced off from the knee down, the other had two bones sticking out of his shin area. Still holding his gaze, she said with more resolve, "I'll try my best."

"That's all I'll ever ask from you, sis," Sam said before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "I'm glad you're safe. I love you, Marie."

Her hands hovered over his body again and started emitting a blue light, healing his smaller cuts slowly. She bit back a sob, "I love you too, Sam." And she did. She had realized recently that she wanted to be seen as more than his "little sister". Her heart would tell her to do things that were quite odd to her mind, like holding his hand even though she wasn't a kid anymore, or kissing his lips. She never took the chance, thinking that he wouldn't like the idea of his supposed sister having romantic feelings towards him.

She heard his breathing slow and heart rate gradually decrease. Her hands pressed up against his skin, as if she could heal him faster by being closer. She cried harder, chanting, "stay with me, please. Sam, just stay with me. You'll be okay." She wanted to heal him, for him to be okay and for them to live happily ever after. She had heard fairy tales of two people who meet by chance and fall in love and live a happy life with a family, and she desperately wanted that for her and Sam. Her eyes felt hot with tears and her nose stung, her emotions running rampant and her arms shook in terror of losing him.

' _There's nothing you can do now,_ ' The voice whispered and she shook her head to dislodge the thought. She couldn't lose him, he was the light of her life. Her heart beat raced and her breathing turned ragged.

Sam smiled at her, one of his smiled that always tugged at her heart before he took one more slow breath.

His body went limp in her hands.

Noticing how he wasn't breathing anymore, her body stilled.

"Sam?" Not wanting to look to his face, she stayed rooted at his waist, the blue light fading from her hands. "Sammy.. Please," she whispered. Tears continued to fall freely from her face as her ice blue eyes made their way up to his.

He made no movement, his body going colder by the second.

"Sam!" She screamed and grasped his shoulders, shaking him. But his head only lolled to the side, mouth partly open. "Sam!" She cried. She grasped his face in her hands, pleading for him to live, for anyone or anything to grant her one wish. "I love you, Sam. please come back!" She screamed for help until her throat ached and her ears rung again. Wouldn't anyone help her? She frantically started healing him again, but this time nothing happened to his cuts, they wouldn't close. Blood poured from his body, staining her legs and arms. His smiling face kept her stamina up until she had exhausted all of her power trying to do the impossible. She couldn't bring anyone back from the dead.

"Please.." She whispered as she lay broken on the floor.

Sobbing, she lay next to his cold body, hugging him close to her. She fell asleep eventually, dreaming of past days, when she was happy with this family that took care of her, that loved her.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! I would just like to point out that the name 'Aurai' is pronounced with a V where the U is :) Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter, I hope to write longer chapters in the future though. Please review! Also, I'll be posting the next chapter either tomorrow or the next day so stay tuned~

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Chapter 2

Waking up, she turned on her side gently, not wanting the warmth of sun on her skin fade. Her blue eyes opened as she took in her surroundings. Lilac walls, white curtains, mahogany nightstand. That's when she noticed the alarm clock and what time it was.

With a gasp, she realized that she had overslept, and it was nearly noon.

"Oh, crap," she muttered to herself and threw the covers off to run to her dresser for clothes. Choosing a sleeveless tight purple top, and her favorite black skirt, she threw everything on and rushed to her boots, gabbing black knee high socks on the way. After everything, she attached a belt to her waist and grabbed her house key, locking the door on the way out.

"Crap, crap, crap," She ran down the streets towards her destination, scaring some bystanders with her speed. "I'm so dead," she groaned.

Throwing two large wooden doors open, a hall appeared before her, which she proceeded to sprint down until she met another set of doors. Pushing those open, she faced a very angry looking man.

"Aurai! Late again I see, I should have you arrested!" The man yelled atop a stand.

"I'm sorry, I overslept." She said bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck. An old lady made a sound of disapproval beside her. Anger welling up, she let out, "Hey you old hag, who the hell do you think you are!?"

"Remember? I'm the one that's taking your dumb ass to court for destroying my shop!" she retorted, crossing her arms and scrunching up her wrinkled face.

"Well fuck me for trying to help catch that thief! I almost had him too until you whacked me in the head with a fucking broom, you witch!" Aurai screamed.

"Enough!" The man yelled again, causing both females to shrink under his spiteful glare. "Aurai, you went too far. Even though you were trying to help, you destroyed this lady's shop in the process. Its so wrecked that we're going to have to build it from the foundation up." He sighed, and the old lady smirked in Aurai's direction to which she responded with a middle finger. "And you, Mrs. Wilhelm, you shouldn't have attacked Aurai. Also, we found a few illegal substances among the wreckage in the basement. Care to explain?"

The old lady stuttered before she yelled, "They aren't mine!" The judge muttered something before sighing in exasperation.

"Mrs. Wilhelm, you are under arrest for possession of miscellaneous drugs. And Aurai, you are hereby fined one hundred thousand jewel. Court dismissed!" The rune knight standing in front of the door took the old lady into custody as Aurai stood there motionless.

"Hundred. Thousand. Jewel?" She muttered, shocked. Where in the world was she going to get that much money? Then she remembered why she was trying to catch that criminal anyways. She had seen wanted posters with his face on it, the reward being 50,000 jewel. She only briefly wondered how she would find him when it clicked to her that she would just use her senses.

She could "listen" in on other people's emotions and sometimes catch images of their thoughts. So she stilled her body and closed her eyes, concentrating her magic into her mind, imagining it reaching out like hands. She could sense the surrounding people up to a mile and a more specific source up to two.

So far, most of the people were feeling quite normal things, images of mundane situations entered her mind, and right when she knew her limit was almost reached she felt it. Fear, grief, and anger. An image of the thief with a gun pointed at a young child entered her mind and before she knew it she was running so fast it felt like flying. She let her mind lead her as she lept over obstacles and ducked under vendor tents.

Right when she turned the corner to reach her destination she was thrown back a couple feet by an explosion of fire. Landing on her feet she immediately rushed into the flame, worried for the safety of the family that was threatened. To her surprise there was another man, holding the thief by the collar.

He was mad, flames engulfing his body and his salmon hair rising in the heat. He wore a black vest and knee length white baggy trousers almost hidden by a black waist cloth held up by a brown belt. A white scarf hung around his neck and the ends were flying in the rising waves of hot air. His black eyes narrowed with ferocity as he glared at the thief.

She then felt someone touch her shoulder and turned to see a blonde woman just as confused as she was. The blonde was wearing a sleeveless collared halter top with blue trimmings and a black skirt. A thick brown leather belt sat on her hips and she could see several keys hanging off of it along with a black whip on the other side. Behind her was the once threatened family, hugging each other in relief.

"Who are you?" She asked the blonde woman, who smiled softly and led her away from the flames.

"My name's Lucy. Do you know this family?" Her eyes glanced over to the people still embracing each other.

"No, I was here to catch that thief actually," Lucy watched as her eyes drifted over to her partner who had now tied the unconscious man up and was walking over to the pair.

"Hey!" The pink haired man smiled as he walked over with Lucy shouting at him, "You almost destroyed another house! Damn it, Natsu, we already were docked half pay from the last job, I can't lose anymore money!" The man referred to as Natsu just grinned and laughed at her complaining.

He then noticed the presence of someone unfamiliar. His grin slipping, he turned to her, "Hey, what's your name? What are you doing here?"

"My name is Aurai. I came here to apprehend that thief, it was my next job." She said, crossing her arms.

"Job?" He asked, "What guild are you in?" His head cocked to the side and looked her up and down, not finding a guild mark.

Aurai flinched slightly, "I don't belong to a guild. I do freelance work. What are you guys doing here anyways?"

Lucy smiled then, "Natsu heard the family in distress and we barged in," she laughed to herself, rubbing the back of her neck. "Anyways, you can take him if you want, we aren't here to turn him in for money." Aurai noticed that her smile was genuine and immediately trusted her.

"Thanks, I'm actually in a bit of trouble and really need the money for it.." She trailed off, walking towards the thief.

"You're in trouble?" Lucy's eyes widened, "do you need any help?"

Aurai laughed, "no, I'm in trouble with the knights, I kind of destroyed a shop the last time I was trying to catch this guy," she said and hoisted the thief onto her shoulder, surprising both of the other mages.

"You destroyed a building trying to catch a thief?" Lucy's eyes were wide with shock and awe while Natsu laughed loudly.

"Hey, why don't you join Fairy Tail, you could get some money doing jobs there," Natsu shouted, getting rather excited. He briefly wondered if she would spar with him.

"You guys barely know me and you're inviting me to your guild?" She looked curiously at them. Just what kind of people were they? She shook her head, she hadn't stepped foot in a guild since that day years ago. She couldn't just open herself up to a new guild. She was scared of building a new family just for history to repeat itself. "Nah, thanks. I don't think I'd do well in a guild."

Natsu's grin fell then, "What do you mean? You're perfect material for Fairy Tail!" Natsu was confused by why she wouldn't want to join them, her being strong and a bit reckless just like them. But she could see recognition in Lucy's eyes.

Lucy touched Natsu's arm and he reacted to the small touch. He seemed to know what she wanted to say. "Okay okay, well, if you decide to change your mind then come find us in Magnolia!" He then flashed his signature grin and Lucy smiled next to him, waving goodbye.

Once they were out of sight, Aurai sighed and fixed her hold on the unconscious thief, heading back to the Rune Knights' headquarters.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is rather short as well, sorry. Anyways, please review!

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Chapter 3

"Wait, what!?" Aurai yelled, exasperated. This lady was **not** making any goddamn sense.

"You heard me!" The older lady screeched at her, "Your rent is being raised by 60,000 jewel and I expect that by next week!" By now her big face was red with anger and spit hung to her lips in disgusting globs. To which Aurai visibly shuddered.

"Yea, okay," the raven haired girl sighed and looked behind her into the small apartment. She really only owned a couple of things, and she didn't like how small the apartment was for the high price. "So expect me out by tonight." She looked back to her overweight landlady with a blank expression. The lady turned her heel with a huff and walked down the hall to her own apartment complex, slamming the door behind her.

Aurai turned to walk back to her room and started gathering the few things that she actually owned. A few clothes, pictures, a sketchbook, and a small jewelry box with a keepsake inside was all she really owned from the apartment. The furniture had been provided by the landlady when she first moved in. Putting everything into a knapsack, she left the key on the kitchen table and walked out of the door, not bothering to look back.

Sitting on the sidewalk out in the warm spring air, Aurai wondered where she would go. There were some places that she thought of but they were quite shoddy and wouldn't actually be a good idea for sleeping accommodations. She knew how much jewel she had but she was never good at saving and didn't know how much was a good amount to spend on a hotel. Deciding to try to find a couple and then compare, she stood up.

All of a sudden she felt something. It wasn't from her, it was from someone else. Without even realizing it her mind had reached out and into someone else's emotions. She felt their obvious annoyance and also a slight hidden amusement, but somehow she knew that they would never admit that. Letting her legs lead her to a nearby bar, she soon found herself staring at the back of a blonde head of hair.

He had broad shoulders, but a slim waist. His sleeveless shirt allowed her to see his bulking muscles under taught sun kissed skin. She felt a ticklish sensation grow from the top of her stomach up her throat right before she heard him laughing. His voice was strong, and certain as he talked. She could hear sarcasm in almost every one of his sentences, but she felt the warmth that he held for his friends.

His friends got up from their seats and she noticed that they were leaving the bar now. He slid one leg off of his chair and she watched, waiting for him to face her, suddenly impatient. As he rose, she felt her heartbeat quicken but everything seemed it was moving slower than it should. He finally turned his body toward her, his head still towards the side, talking to one of his friends.

Her breath stopped when she saw his eyes. They were a stormy blue. Golden hair and blue eyes. A face from her past decided to come back to the forefront of her memory, one that she still saw in her dreams. "Sam," she whispered. But somehow he heard. She felt his surprise and then curiosity when they locked eyes. She then saw the strong line of his jaw and the alluring scar cutting down the right side of his face and that was enough to remind her that this was a totally different person.

She then realized that he was moving towards her and time snapped back into normalcy. She felt her face flush when he was just a few feet away, she could smell his cologne and she could feel his confidence and a hint of something she was unfamiliar with. Right when he was a couple strides from reaching her, she realized that he wasn't walking to her, the exit was right behind her. Nevertheless, Aurai still watched him pass her and was amazed to hear him chuckle as their shoulders brushed. Her face and ears burned with blush and she stood dumbfounded for quite a while after they had left.

Quite some time later, Aurai found herself sitting on a small hotel bed reading the latest Sorcerer's Weekly magazine. She had seen these magazines around for some time but she never actually picked one up. She flipped the page after seeing a swimsuit ad and found a special insert on a mage guild. There was the name of the guild in big, bold text on the top of the page. 'Fairy Tail' it was titled. Depicted there was a small old man in front of a group of people and she instantly recognized Lucy and Natsu near the front.

For a long time she just stared at the page. 'It looks like fun' she thought.

" _Do you really want to go through that pain again though?_ " She was startled at first, it having been awhile since she heard her voice. She thought back to when she felt the happiest. She remembered a time that she would always pinpoint as her happiest moment. The moment when she was young, sitting on a park bench next to Sam while they shared a picnic. They were watching the sunset, waiting for the stars to come out of hiding. She looked over at the blond next to her and smiled while he ruffled her hair.

Then a new thought occurred to her. She could have people in her life again. She could laugh and cry and be a normal human being with people who cared for her. She could have people to care about, to listen to, to help. And suddenly, she felt a dull ache in her heart. She felt homesick. Not for the apartment that she had lived in for years, and not even for the guild hall she once knew. She felt sick for the people, the friends, the life she shared and loved. She missed having hopes and dreams of grand adventures and of being a great mage that helped everyone in need. She missed her true self, the person she once was before she grew up in a world of solitude.

" _Is it worth it?_ "

She really didn't know the answer to that question, but she was ready to take the risk.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day, Aurai had decided to leave Crocus and head to Magnolia.

Determination flared in her eyes as she set out and soon she was in the middle of the forest making her way through the mountains. To her dismay it would take a lot longer to go around the mountains so she had to go straight through. But given her past, she hadn't stepped foot in the forest since she was found. The determined glint in her eyes turned to fear and worry. Every shadow seemed to hide something that could harm her and every sound had her head turning and eyes widening. She stepped on a stick and jumped at the sound that she unwillingly made but then heard a voice up ahead.

"Did you hear that?" She heard the male voice say, he didn't sound afraid per se, but rather hyper alert.

Then she heard another slightly deeper voice laugh, "C'mon, man you're just hearing things. There's no wyverns here so we should be okay." The first voice huffed.

She then stepped a little closer and heard the crackle of a fire. "Ugh, I can't wait to be home and to eat real food." A female voice said with disgust. One of the males laughed again. "By the way, where exactly did Laxus go anyways?"

"He said he was going to get water from the river," The first voice said but she could sense a hint of worry in his tone.

Then they came into view. She crouched behind a couple of bushes to keep hidden but to observe them still. As soon as she saw their faces she recognized them from last night at the bar. But they were missing the big blond that she had the encounter with. Where did he go?

Soon after she thought that she felt a presence next to her and her body stilled, terrified. Was it a monster? Was it going to try to eat her? Her head turned slowly, her neck felt stiff.

"Boo," someone breathed into her ear and she felt a scream rip through her throat in sheer terror. She stood abruptly and tried to run away but he had caught her by the collar.

The mages around the campfire were now standing, having been frightened by the scream but then saw Laxus and relaxed their bodies.

"H-hey, put me down!" Aurai screamed, kicking her legs this way and that, trying to land at least one hit to the blond's huge body. He just held her out further from himself and walked over to the campground. Her frustration peaked and she threw her hands out to the side, conjuring a spell.

Wind rushed around them and cut into the blond's arm, and he dropped her in shock. She landed on her feet, putting out a hand to help balance herself and darted forward, with the help of wind pushing her. She turned back towards them, half expecting for them to try to attack her after that. Now there was about 50 feet between them but she could see how disgruntled his teammates have become with her attack.

For a while they just stared at each other. And then right when she thought they would come after her, the blonde started laughing. His laugh startled everyone, even his teammates looked at him in shock.

"Laxus?" The green haired man spoke first, "are you alright?"

The blond man took a breath, "You're stronger than you look. I like that." He grinned at Aurai.

She felt her cheeks flush and she let her body relax a bit before speaking to them. "Why the fuck did you grab me?"

Laxus's eyes widened partially hearing her curse like it was totally normal for her. When he saw her in the bar last night she just looked like a young weak fangirl who he'd never even see or think about again. But now he saw her as her. She was older than he initially thought, her shoulder length black hair was a bit tousled from the altercation and her ice blue eyes seemed to pierce right through him. But Laxus is a fighter. If someone was giving him attitude he'd give one hundred and ten percent of it right back.

"Why the fuck were you spying on us?" His grin grew when he saw her flinch slightly at that.

"I wasn't, or I didn't mean to," she started, "I'm making my way to Magnolia, I thought you might be bad guys." She ran a hand through her hair to try to fix it.

While she was combing her hair with her fingers, Laxus's dragon slayer nose picked up her scent and his eyes softened a fraction.

"Well, we're not bad guys," the green haired man spoke up. "We're from a guild in Magnolia. We're actually headed there right now, we were taking a break."

"Oh," was all she let out. She thought that they were from Crocus, having seen them there last night.

"My name is Freed." The man continued, "Maybe we could travel together. After all, it is quite dangerous for a young lady to travel alone in the forest." The green haired man was wearing a knee length double breasted coat and a thick belt held up a sword. A cravat was tucked into the collar of his coat and he wore black pants that dipped into white boots. His bangs covered the right side of his face but he did look kind and sincere.

"This is Bickslow, and Evergreen." He motioned to the two mages next to him, Bickslow being an odd looking fellow with three totem dolls hovering around him, he had a visor over his eyes and a striped form fitting shirt that had a hood extending over his head. He wore large shoulder pads, arm bands, and a long waistcloth almost hiding his baggy pants. Upon seeing her studying him, he stuck out his tongue, which she could see a symbol on, but she couldn't quite see the shape.

Evergreen was a curvy brunette who wore a tight sweetheart neckline green dress and sheer stockings with purple heels. She carried a feathered fan that she used to cover the lower part of her face, her eyes hid behind oval glasses. Her hair was left down and Aurai could see that her mark was on her right breast but got a bit covered up by her hair.

"And this is Laxus." Aurai's eyes traveled over to the big blond that she didn't mind looking over another time. He wore a formfitting navy sleeveless shirt under a large fur trimmed coat that hung over his shoulders and reached down past his knees. He had dark burgundy pants that covered black boots on his feet. He had headphones around his neck and the cord ran down to a black belt that held a small device.

"What's your name?" Laxus had spoken up then taking over for Freed.

She looked him in the eye, "Aurai." Following her words there was an intense silence until recognition glinted in Freed's eyes.

"Wait a second, 'Aurai' are winged nymphs of the breeze. Daughters to the gods of the North, East, South, and West winds." Freed smiled, "Which is quite fitting because you have wind magic." He did sound scholarly and knowledgeable.

Aurai chuckled a bit, even though he did know a lot, it seemed he didn't know everything. She walked towards them now, still wary but not as threatened as at first. She stopped a few feet in front of them. "What's funny, did I get something wrong?" Freed questioned.

Aurai kept her gaze on Laxus, her eyes narrowing, making her look more dangerous than he thought she was. "I don't have wind magic," she started, her eyes flicking over to freed for a split second, seeing his eyes widen and mouth open to retort but she spoke up again to cut him off. "I have sky magic. Demon slaying sky magic." Her eyes were still locked with Laxus's and she saw him being taken aback.

She heard their breathing hitch and eyes widened in shock. "Demon slaying?" Evergreen whispered.

"A lost magic?" Freed gasped, staring in awe.

"What magic do you guys have?" Aurai asked curiously.

Freed spoke first, "I'm a rune mage."

Evergreen fanned herself and spoke haughtily, "I use fairy magic."

"I'm a seith mage." Bickslow grinned and showed his tongue again. This time she saw the symbol and she knew she had seen it somewhere before.

Laxus smirked and crossed his arms, "I'm a lightning dragon slayer."

Then she realized where she had seen that symbol. "Wait a second, you guys are Fairy Tail mages?"

"Yea, that's where we're headed now," Laxus said, shrugging his shoulder. "Where in Magnolia were you headed?"

"Fairy Tail," Aurai whispered but Laxus heard and started laughing again.

"Why would you want to go to our guild? Do you know someone there?" He asked.

"No, not in particular. I met two mages a couple days ago and they wanted me to join since I'm not in a guild right now." She said plainly.

Laxus groaned, "By chance was that Natsu and Lucy?" Upon seeing her nod he continued, "Natsu, the little shit." He shook his head. "He's a fire dragon slayer but he doesn't really know how to control himself. Did he destroy anything in Crocus?"

"Well, almost. He just set a house on fire but it's no big deal." Aurai shrugged and she heard a couple of scoffs. "What?"

"You kind of reminded me of him just now," Laxus laughed, causing her to blush.

"Anyways, we're about to head out now, after we put out the fire we can get back on the trail home." Freed interjected.

"Finally, I really can't wait to be home!" Evergreen smiled and stretched her arms over her head.

"Why, so you can go run off with beast boy?" Bickslow taunted and she smacked him with her fan. They walked back to the fire while bickering.

"Is there really a beast man in your guild?" Aurai asked with wide eyes and Laxus just laughed, walking behind the others.

After about two hours of trekking through the forest with the team, Aurai started feeling more comfortable with them, making jokes with Bickslow, learning new things from Freed, and listening to Evergreen talk about the legend of fairies. Laxus would sometimes smirk at something she said or make a grunt when his teammates would ask him something. It seemed to her that they knew he wouldn't answer more than a yes or no question so they didn't ask him. She could feel a level of trust between them that she hadn't known could be achieved in a weird group like this.

She found herself hoping that she could find friends in the guild she wanted to join. She wanted the bond that this group had with each other. She kicked a pebble off of the cliff and looked off into the distance. The view from there was magnificent, she could see the sparkling sea in the distance and a town not too far from them that was pointed out as their destination.

She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a loud battle cry coming from above them. A group of bandits were standing on a cliff a couple of feet above their eye level and they quickly jumped off of it and managed to tackle Evergreen and Freed to the ground. Bickslow called out a spell and his totem dolls flew straight into a couple of the bandits. She could see Laxus emitting a yellow light around him and he opened his mouth, calling out a spell before a big column of lightning took out several of the bandits.

Aurai stood in shock for several moments before she saw a man coming at her with a knife.

"Aurai!" A voice yelled and she moved into action.

"Sky demon's claw!" She yelled and as her left arm passed to the right a wave of wind rushed in front of her, knocking several bandits off of the side of the cliff and the men on Freed and Evergreen were pushed back. She noticed how narrow the ledge they were on was and saw that ten more bandits just jumped into the fray. Letting her magic take over her senses, she could feel the emotions of Laxus, Evergreen, Bickslow, and Freed and could also feel where they were without looking. Keeping that mental tab open, she began another attack on the bandits, kicking, punching, and throwing whoever she could grab.

She felt that Freed's presence was behind her and he was feeling trapped, so she jumped into the air and descended on the men in front of him with a "Sky demon's talon!" Wind ripped through their skin and flesh, making them cry out in pain. As soon as they could, they got up and turned around only for them to see a hulking blond in front of them, throwing a right hook.

"Lightning dragon's iron fist!" He yelled and lightning crashed against their bodies and sent them over the edge, screaming until they were caught in the trees below.

Aurai looked around and saw that they were the last of the men needing to be taken care of so she relaxed and looked over to her companions. "Is everyone okay?" She asked.

Freed and Evergreen had a couple of cuts on their bodies from being pushed to the ground and Bickslow had gained a cut on his leg from a bandit he thought was unconscious.

"Well, that's not bad at all," She muttered and before they could ask what she meant she closed her eyes and held her hands in front of her, almost as if she was praying. A blue light started growing from her and she pushed her hands forward, towards the group.

The blue light sunk into their skin and healed their cuts and bruises, Laxus not having received any just felt more invigorated and lighter.

"Woah, thanks Avi," Bickslow grinned widely, using a nickname he had come up with a little while ago.

"No problem," She shrugged and gave him a small smile. They picked up their things and headed out again, Laxus kept his ears open and Aurai kept her thought perception open to detect any further danger.

A couple hours after that, they had made it to Magnolia. The city was smaller than the capital city that she had lived in but she liked it a lot more for that. It was filled with flowers and trees and the scent of fresh baked goods. She heard church bells in the air and saw a cathedral in the distance. She decided that she wouldn't mind living here for the rest of her life.

They walked down the cobblestone street, the guild mages leading the way. Aurai noticed that there were quite a few people that would stop and stare at them, some in awe and some in fear. "Hey," Aurai whispered over to Evergreen who glanced over at her then slowed her pace to talk to the girl quietly without the boys' attention. "Why are people staring?" She asked.

"Oh, that's just because Laxus is well known in this town, he's the master's grandson, and next to be heir of the guild!" Evergreen practically squealed. That was another thing that Aurai had picked up on, that Laxus's teammates were oddly obsessed with him for some reason but he didn't seem to mind too much.

"Wow, guild master's grandson?" Aurai said a little louder than she should have, gaining a perked ear from Laxus. He didn't turn his head but he was definitely listening.

"That, and that he's super hot, don't you think?" Evergreen grinned viciously in her direction, almost accusingly.

Aurai stuttered and blushed before she could formulate a good response. "W-well.." She started.

"What? You don't think he's hot?" Evergreen prodded, her smile widening.

"I-I.." Aurai's face was vermillion red, and she felt it would explode soon.

Just then they stopped and she ran into the broad back of Laxus's body. "Hey, we're here," he said but he didn't look Aurai or Evergreen in the eyes.

They stood in front of huge wooden doors and Aurai looked up and up and up to see the rest of the building. Above the doors was a sign that said 'Fairy Tail' and had their guild symbol on it. The brick building looked huge and intimidating from where she stood.

She heard a sigh and looked back to the group and saw Laxus stepping up to open the doors while grumbling to himself, "damn it, he's back already."

Aurai wondered just who he was talking about but she had other things to worry about once the doors were pushed open and the roar of a crowd hit her. There were round tables littered around the floor and a long bar against the back wall. She saw a white haired girl waving to the group from behind the bar but her attention was soon focused on the fight that was taking place right beside them.

"Mira, two beers please," Laxus called to the lady behind the bar and she smiled before moving to grab two beer mugs.

The sound of his voice made the two people brawling pause and a pink haired man stood up yelling, "Laxus, fight me!"

"Natsu?" Aurai said, surprised.

"Aurai!" Natsu noticed her then and smiled widely before shouting again, "Fight me!"

Lucy stepped up to the two then, laughing. "Hey, Aurai," she smiled, ignoring her partner. "Did you decide to come to Fairy Tail?"

Aurai smiled back at her, "Yea, I thought it would be fun." Embarrassed, she looked down and the floor.

Natsu cheered quite loudly, gaining the attention of most of the other guild members. "Hey, Gramps!" He called out and she wondered who he was calling out for.

"What do you want, brat?" a small old man was sitting on the bar next to where the white hair lady was wiping cups.

"Aurai wants to join Fairy Tail!" He smiled proudly and led her towards the old man.

"H-hello, I'm Aurai," she said timidly. "I would really like to join Fairy Tail and hopefully someday become a real part of this family." She said without thinking.

The old man grinned and stood up, "Everyone, we have a new member and her name is Aurai. Please, take care of her,"

Everyone cheered loudly and held their drinks up in a toast. The lady with white hair came closer to the group then.

"Hi there," she smiled, "I'm Mira. I'll put your guild stamp on you, where would you like it?"

Aurai smiled back but was suddenly indecisive. She would want it to show even when she was wearing her normal clothes but she didn't want it on her shoulders or legs. Then she had an idea and decided to just go with it. "I want it here, on my hip." She said and pointed to the left side of her hip that was exposed because she wore a top that ended above her belly button.

"Okay, what color?" Mira asked again, getting a kit out from under the counter.

"Lilac," She responded almost immediately. Mira smiled again and came out from behind the bar to be able to reach her hip easier. As she pressed the stamp to her skin she felt it tingle for a second and then her body felt a warmth that she hadn't felt in a long time. It was almost like she was waking up from a long nap, or like a flower that had finally bloomed.

Everything felt right and she was now looking forward to her future, no longer dwelling on her past.


	5. Chapter 5

I just want to let you know that I'll be going outside of the box with the extent of 'Devil Slaying' magic because in Fairy Tail they don't really define it. So! I conveniently made up how I'd like to think about it :)

* * *

Chapter 5

The next day had come sooner than she had expected. She found herself walking to the guild with a few other girls from Fairy Hills. They were all nice and welcoming of her and actually made her feel right at home in the smaller apartment complex.

After she got her guild stamp yesterday she hung around the guild with Lucy and Natsu, meeting everyone. She finally met Happy who was too busy fishing with his friends Pantherlily and Charle to go on the mission that Aurai met Natsu and Lucy on. She met a small girl named Wendy who also used sky magic and she felt an immediate connection to, and she also was living in Fairy Hills.

She met Levy, Lucy's best friend who was super cute and very intelligent. She was introduced to Gray who Natsu had said was his rival but she knew that they were really the best of friends. Erza was also a part of Natsu and Lucy's team and she seemed like a really nice girl but she was quite scary sometimes too. There were a lot of other people to meet too, like the Strauss family of Lisanna, Mira, and Elfman, Jet, Droy, Gajeel, Juvia, Warren, Bisca, Alzack, Asuka, Romeo, Wakaba, Macao, Cana, Gildarts, Laki, Kinana, Vijeeter, Reedus, Nab, and Max.

Everyone in Fairy Tail accepted her and congratulated her on joining the guild. She was having a great time laughing with everyone at old stories and dancing with a few other people while loud music played. At the end of the night the master Makarov had said that there was an extra apartment in Fairy Hills that she could stay in. She had located her pack of belongings and headed out with Levy and Wendy to the apartments not far from the guild.

The girls arrived at the guild and once they entered Aurai noticed it was a lot quieter than yesterday. "Is it always quiet in the mornings?" Aurai asked the others and Cana spoke up.

"Usually yea, but it'll get more rambunctious once Natsu comes in," the girls laughed and dispersed into different areas of the guild hall. She tagged along with Wendy and Erza. After they talked for a while, Aurai decided to check out the job postings and headed over to the board.

There were a multitude of papers, all ranging in colors and fonts. The jobs posted varied greatly too, some took up to two weeks to complete, some took a couple hours. Deciding that she would take a rather easy job since she was new, Aurai found a job she felt suited her. She pulled the paper off of the tack that held it to get a better look.

'Mage needed to catch jewel thief' was in bold font across the top. In the description it said that a wealthy man in Oshibana found some of his prized gems missing from his collection. He needed someone to help find the thief and bring back his gems. The reward was listed at 100,000 jewel.

"Already taking jobs, huh?"

The deep voice coming from behind startled her. Her head whipped around to find a certain blond dragon slayer and her eyes narrowed. "Yea, I need to make money somehow. And why's it so weird that I'm taking one on my second day here?"

He leaned his weight on one leg and stuffed his large hands in his pockets. "Just that most people take time to settle in, get used to their surroundings and such. You sure you don't need any help with that mission?" His face broke into a shit eating grin.

Her glare hardened, "Hell no. Get lost, Sparky." Aurai darted past him before he could retort, making her way to the bar to let Mira know she was taking the job.

She heard him laugh before turning to walk up the stairs. Her eyes softened when she slid onto a bar stool and put the paper on the wooden table. "Hey, Mira-" she started before being pat on the back rather harshly and heard a loud laugh in her ear.

"That was a good one, Avi!" Natsu was laughing hard enough that he was holding his stomach in pain. Lucy was next to him, slightly pale.

"I thought for sure he was going to kill you," the blonde mage said, eyes still wide.

Aurai rolled her eyes. "Eh, he's not that tough," she said and heard practically the whole guild gasp. "What?"

"A-Aurai," Lucy got paler still, "he's the s-second strongest in the guild after Gildarts."

"You guys should fight to see who's stronger!" Natsu shouted and they heard a few cheers but Aurai shook her head.

"Nah, not right now, I have to go on a mission real quick." She motioned to the paper in front of her. She made eye contact with the barmaid and smiled when she took the request paper, already knowing what she wanted.

"A mission?" Natsu asked, head tilting to the side in curiosity, "Do you need any help with it?"

"No, it's okay, thanks though. It's just catching a jewel thief over in Oshibana." She heard Mira place the paper back in front of her and she thanked the barmaid before taking it and folding it up.

"Oh okay then, I guess we should take a job too, my rent is due next week," Lucy said begrudgingly. Natsu grinned and led the blonde over to the request board.

Aurai let Erza and Wendy know that she'd be going on a mission for a couple days and they hugged her and said good luck. She made her way out of the guild and to her apartment to pack a couple of things, unaware of a pair of eyes watching her.

* * *

Before she knew it, she was exiting the train and in Oshibana, the sun was getting lower in the sky, but she figured she had a few hours until it was dark. So she headed out to the house of the man who requested assistance.

She came to a stop outside of a large building, it was three stories tall and had large white columns along the front. She double checked the address, sighed, and rung the doorbell. Before long, the large door was opened by a tall butler who asked that she state her business there.

"I'm here from Fairy Tail, to help catch the thief," she said and lifted the hem of her shirt slightly to allow him to see her guild crest.

His cheeks flared pink from her raising her shirt, but bowed and let her in the foyer. "He should be having his afternoon tea right about now." He took her pack for her and left it by the door. They walked down a long hallway lined with multiple doors.

They came to a set of doors and he opened it for her, letting her through before he stepped in and closed the door. "Master Christoff, there is a young mage here to help you with your request."

She was admiring the room when the butler spoke, reminding her that this was business and she should introduce herself. "Hello, I'm Aurai from Fairy Tail."

The man stood up from the couch, making his way over slowly to shake her hand, "It's very lovely to meet you, Aurai. My name is Devir Christoff." He was about as tall as she was, white hair barely covered his head and chin, his glasses sat in front of blue eyes. He wore a navy cardigan over a yellow polo, his khaki pants were held up by a brown leather belt and shiny black shoes adorned his small feet. "Thank you for responding to my request, I was hoping to find this thief before he strikes again."

"Wait, does that mean that this has happened before?" Aurai made her way to a chair he motioned her to sit in.

"Quite frequently, I'm afraid." The old man sat back down onto his couch and pushed his glasses up. "Not only are my precious gems missing but also some rare artifacts and old books as well." He let out a sigh and shook his head slightly in grief.

"Has this happened to your neighbors or anyone else in this town?" She asked while accepting a cup of tea from the butler.

"Not that I've heard of, but then again I don't often find myself in the company of others any longer. After my wife passed, I haven't felt much like socializing."

"Oh," Aurai started; the cup she lifted to take a sip from hesitated at her lips then was lowered. "Do you have any suspicions as to who it is?" She placed the full porcelain cup back on its saucer and put them both on the coffee table.

"Not a clue, my dear. I don't believe I've made any enemies thus far in my life. It's probably just someone who needs money." He too put his teacup down and took the cane she didn't notice at his side. He stood up and made his way past her chair. "I can show you where they were kept." He said before continuing to the door.

Aurai stood up and followed the man out of the room and into the hallway. They went up a flight of stairs, on which she kept her hand under his elbow to help him. He stopped in front of a large door that had a golden filigree handle and pushed it open. It creaked in protest but swung to the side, revealing an extensive library and some glass cases with old relics in them.

"Do you have someone keep record of your books?" She asked as she walked up to the glass cases and started to see some things missing from place holders.

"Yes, that would be Edie. She keeps care of the books and dusts the cases when needed." He turned to the ever present butler, "Is she here today, Marvin?"

"Yes, sir. She is downstairs dusting the lounge." Marvin bowed and left, presumably going to get her.

"Mr. Christoff, do you keep record of everything that's in the cases?" Aurai asked, coming back to stand next to him.

"Please, call me Devir. And yes, I do." He moved to a small desk by the window and pulled open a drawer. He pulled out a small notebook that looked old and worn, and one new looking sheet of paper. "Here's a detailed accounting of the items I have collected and the dates that they were moved into my home. This paper states what items were taken and when I noticed they were missing." He handed her both the notebook and the paper.

"Thank you, it'll be easier having the details." Just then, the door creaked open again and a young lady entered with Marvin behind her.

Devir walked up to her and held one of her hands with both of his, "Edie, this is Aurai, a mage from Fairy Tail. She would like to know what books were taken." Her eyes flickered over to Aurai and she smiled.

The young woman had curly orange hair and brown freckles over her nose. Green eyes looked Aurai over and she held out one thin black lace covered hand for her to shake. She wore a cap sleeve forest green velvet dress that reached her ankles and a few golden bands jingled on her wrists. "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said.

Aurai shook her hand and nodded, "Pleasure to meet you too."

"Thank you for taking my grandfather's request, it's been heartbreaking to see this wonderful collection disappear right before our eyes." She held a gloved hand to her cheek in despair.

"Grandfather?" Aurai said in shock.

Devir smiled and Edie giggled. "Yes, even though she's not part of my staff, she likes to take care of the books herself when she can." Devir looked at her in adoration.

Edie smiled at him and turned back to Aurai, "I kept a record of which books were stolen inside the cover of my favorite." She made her way over to a shelf and reached up to grab a book. She took the piece of paper out and handed it to Aurai.

"Thank you," she took the paper and looked it over.

After making her own detailed list, she said goodbye to Devir and Edie. She noticed that the sun was setting on the horizon and sighed to herself. She hoisted her bag onto her back and made her way down the darkening street.

She watched as the street lamps turned on and the sky darkened even further until everything was only illuminated by lacrima and moonlight. She searched for a hotel to stay the night in, wondering if this job was going to be as short as she hoped it would. As she walked further and further, she noticed that there were less and less people around and also less lacrima lamps. She soon took a turn down a small quiet street and paused. She suddenly felt a presence and a barrage of emotions hit her. She felt fear, anger, confusion, worry, and hatred.

Aurai set her pack down and prepared herself. She stood with her eyes closed and felt the air, felt the emotions, and saw the thought projections that they let loose. She saw herself from above and felt the air shift while the emotions turned frantic and she quickly turned her body to intercept the attack.

A man came down at her from above, a fist aimed at her head. She shifted her weight and threw her leg out to kick him in the stomach before his arm could reach her. He slammed into the brick wall lining the alleyway and she heard a crack. Her body stiffened when she felt the air shift again and managed to jump right as someone came up from behind her as if to tackle her.

Her body flipped and she came down on the unsteady male with her knee aimed to the back of his head. Once he was down on the ground, he turned his body and managed to throw a punch at her, but she grabbed his wrist and placed her foot on his shoulder. His eyes widened before she twisted his arm out of its socket and he screamed in pain.

He got up while holding his shoulder with his hand and glared at her. She glared right back at him and bent her knees slightly. She knew he was readying for another attack, and she was quite curious what he would try next.

It's not that she loved fighting, per se, but she had excelled at it over the past years. Her physical strength was above average and she had also taken extensive time to work on flexibility. Physical fighting was something she could turn to when she wasn't sure of using her magic. And since she couldn't sense any magical energy from the man before her, Aurai decided she would try to make it a fair fight.

He pulled out a small switchblade from a pouch on his hip and flipped it open, revealing the sharp edge. He grinned and bent his knees too, shifting his weight forward and down. Suddenly, he broke into a full sprint towards her.

Aurai turned her body to the side, but still faced him head on. Thankfully, she could tell that he wasn't naturally left handed so his attempts at stabbing her would be weaker. Right when he reached her personal space, he swung a left hook with the blade aimed at her chest. She grabbed his wrist with her left hand and turned to shove her right elbow into his face.

His nose cracked and he screamed, releasing the blade his hand coming to his bleeding face instead. She turned to shift her weight again and kicked him in the stomach, which sent him towards the wall where the other assailant was still crumpled.

Letting her body relax, she took a deep breath. Reaching out again with her mind to make sure that they were the only ones, she felt something. Somehow she knew they weren't here to hurt her. She saw the image they were seeing, it was her from behind, a little further down the alley.

"Wow, does my hair really look like that from behind?" She accidentally said out loud. She heard a laugh that startled her in familiarity, and she spun around to see who she thought it was.

He walked towards her and stopped a couple feet away, crossing his muscled arms across his chest and giving her a lopsided grin.

"Laxus, what are you doing here?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Laxus, what are you doing here?"

His grin widened as a blush broke out on her cheeks. He decided not to lie, knowing that to some extent she could sense emotions. "I followed you," he stated simply and her blush darkened.

"W-what!? Why?" She berated herself for not noticing earlier.

He shrugged and let his eyes roam over her figure. She had splatters of blood all over her lilac shirt, it made her look dangerous but the blush on her innocent face counteracted that. "Thought you couldn't handle a mission on your own but…" he trailed off as he looked over to the two unconscious males by the wall, "it looks like you've pretty much got it. Why'd they attack you?"

Aurai's eyes slid over to the men as well and she paused. "Actually, I have no idea." She walked over to the bodies and to Laxus's utter surprise, she lifted the first one up and brought him over to where they were standing. She dropped him on the ground and he groaned, coming back to consciousness. He tried to roll to his side but Aurai pushed his shoulder with her foot and straddled his waist. She put her hands on either side of his face, looking him straight in the eye.

"Woah, what are you doing?" Laxus crouched next to them, confusion etched on his face.

"Getting answers, I'll look into his thought projections maybe I'll get something," she shrugged.

"Wait, what?" Laxus practically yelled, "you can see thought projections?"

"Yea, I can feel others' emotions and see thought projections." She let go of the man's face putting her hands on her waist in a pout then looked over to the blonde dragon slayer. "Doesn't your dragon slayer magic give your senses an extra boost?" She saw him ponder on that thought.

"Well yea, my sense of smell and hearing is way better than most people." He replied.

"Well my devil slaying magic gives me extra senses too, but mine are more where the mind is concerned than the ears or nose." She turned back to the man beneath her. "Oh, you're surprised." She said randomly.

"Well yea, I mean-" Laxus started but was cut off by her hand coming up to cover his mouth.

"Not you, dragonboy, him." She moved her hands back to the sides of the stranger's face. "He's surprised that no one told him what magic I use. He's angry that they sent him on this mission, given that he has no magic." She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate further, "I'm going to try to read his memories. I haven't done this successfully yet but I'm going to try." Aurai heard Laxus grunt next to her and she cleared her mind.

As soon as her mind cleared, images took over. At first, she saw their fight, she saw it from his perspective all the way until he had blacked out from cracked ribs. Aurai pushed further and saw a dim room with an old man behind a desk, there was a flag behind them with what looked to be a guild crest. It was a pair of black wings with a crescent moon above them on a red background. A shiver crept up her spine and her brows furrowed as she listened in on the conversation.

"There's a new mission I'm assigning you to." The deep raspy voice of the bearded old man made her stomach drop and a cold sweat break out on her skin. "I need you to fetch some artifacts from an old acquaintance.

Laxus noticed the change in her demeanor but knew he shouldn't break her concentration. So he watched on while she kept hold of the stranger while they both zoned out.

"Why would you choose me?" The man asked, "Master, I'm only here to spy on the council for you." The voices seemed to be getting dimmer and Aurai knew she couldn't hold the connection much longer.

"I need you because-"

And that was all she was able to manage. She let go of the man beneath her and fell to the floor beside him, face pale and breathing heavily. Her stomach still didn't feel right in seeing that memory and she didn't know why.

"Aurai, are you okay?" Laxus helped her sit up. "Did you see something?"

"Yea. I saw his guild master. He's in a dark guild, and I think they wanted the gems and books from Devir Christoff's mansion but I don't know why." She brushed off Laxus's confused look and stood up. "Something about all this isn't right." She turned and grabbed her pack before walking out of the alley.

Laxus stared after her and shook his head before standing up and following her out.

"Wait, wait, wait," Aurai reached up and rubbed her temples as if she could soothe the oncoming headache. "This **cannot** be the only hotel in this city, what are you talking about?" The small woman behind the counter cowered under her glare.

"I'm sorry miss, there used to be two others but one got closed from pest control and the other was destroyed by some mages from Magnolia." Laxus and Aurai groaned when they realized that they knew who had destroyed it.

"And what you said was that there's only one room?" She crossed her arms and cocked her hips, giving the girl more attitude than necessary. Aurai huffed and turned towards Laxus, "well, it looks like you're sleeping in the street tonight, sorry."

He chuckled and looked back at the small woman behind the counter, "We'll take it." He paid the amount and grabbed the keys, practically dragging his whining guildmate behind him.

"What do you mean 'we'll take it'? Are you insane?" Aurai yelled while being pulled, causing quite a few people to stop and stare. "There's no way I'm sharing a bed with you!"

Laxus came to a stop in front of a door and took out the small gold key. "Who said we'd be sharing a bed?" He grinned as he watched her face turn red, "I'm going to sleep on the couch duh" Laxus laughed. He unlocked the door and watched her rush past.

"You could have said that earlier, you dick!" Aurai yelled and threw her pack into a corner and made her way to the bathroom, trailed by more laughter from the dragon slayer.

She turned the shower on and waited for the water to heat up. Her clothes were piled by the door as she looked at herself in the mirror. She wondered when the last time her skin had looked so alive, more tan and smooth. She had always thought of herself as pasty pale and her eyes used to always have blue bags underneath them. But her eyes were bright, skin still fair but she actually liked what she looked like now and it felt amazing.

Her eyes dropped to the guild mark on her skin and she let her fingers trace it. It felt just like her own skin now, it felt like it belonged on her. Her heart warmed with the thought and she smiled to herself.

A loud knock on the door ripped her out of her thoughts and she scrambled to find a towel. "Hey, Aurai. I'm going to get something to eat, want anything?" Laxus's voice echoed through the bathroom.

"N-no thanks, I'm okay." She gripped the edge of the counter, trying to still her racing heartbeat. As soon as the heavy footsteps disappeared, she sighed and dropped the towel from her chest then stepped into the shower.

The next day the two set out to ask around town about the dark guild. Aurai had drawn out the symbol she had seen but they didn't have a name to it yet. They went shop to shop and even asked several people on the street.

A few hours later and they were still unsuccessful in their attempts, so they decided to let it wait while they followed up on the case of Devir's missing items.

"I think we should visit all of the pawn shops in the area, to see if someone tried to get money for them," Aurai said as they finished up a quick lunch. They were at a small cafe on a street corner, watching people pass by.

"Sounds good to me," Laxus added yet another plate to a stack of about fifteen. "Alright, I'm stuffed." He grinned and clapped his hand over his abdomen.

"Finally, jeez." They left some money on the table and walked out to the street. "Do you know where any pawn shops are around here?"

"I know of two close by and there is one on the outskirts of town. Let's go this way first." Laxus turned down a street and led Aurai to the bad side of town.

There were boarded up houses and trash littering the streets. She could hear people fighting in the alleyways and feel people's eyes following them. She jumped when she felt Laxus slide an arm over her shoulders. "Relax, I'll do the talking." Aurai was confused at first but then saw that they were in front of a rather shoddy looking building.

The sign above the door was broken and bent and the windows were barred with metal. Laxus pushed the door open and led her inside. There were a ton of items littering the place, all ranging in size and color. To the side was a counter with an old man seated behind it.

Laxus removed his arm and waved at the man casually. "How's it going, Errol?" He walked right up to the counter and leaned his elbows on it.

"Laxus," the old man croaked out, "I haven't seen you in here for ages."

"Yea, it has been a while hasn't it." Laxus looked back and found Aurai right behind him. "We actually need some help on a couple of leads. You got time?"

"Son, all I do all day is sit here and watch my shop go to hell. I got all the time you need," Errol took out a flask from under the counter and took a long drink from it. "What are you looking for?"

Aurai stepped up beside Laxus then and took out her list from Devir. "Any of these items. They were stolen from someone in this town and I'm helping to track them down. Have you seen anything that fits the description?"

Errol looked Aurai over and crossed his arms, "I ain't seen nothin' like these."

Laxus narrowed his eyes, "Hey, she's not with the council, she's with me."

He old man took a look at Laxus and saw that he was serious. He sighed and took the paper, reading all of the descriptions. "Ah, yea. I saw this rock described here. And these two necklaces. Someone came in with 'em, I bought 'em off him." He set the paper back on the counter.

"Great, do you have them here?" Aurai folded the list back up and put it in her bag.

"Nope," The old man shrugged. "Sold them to some fella last night. He came in wearing a hood and spoke real soft. Never got a name but got all the jewel he had on him."

"Shit." Aurai cused and balled her hands into fists. "Did he have anything on him that was distinguishable? Maybe a symbol somewhere?"

Errol thought for a moment before he reached under the counter again and pulled out a notepad and a pen. "He had this weird symbol on his jacket. Thought it odd then, so it stuck with me." He drew out what looked like a crescent moon with a raindrop coming off the top of it.

Aurai suddenly felt cold. A chill went up her spine as she reached out to take the paper. Her hand was inches away when she started hearing soft whispers around her, she knew it wasn't Laxus or Errol, but she knew she had heard them before. As her hand drew closer the volume of the voices grew louder. She could now make out what they were saying.

" _Why did you run?" "They hate who you are" "You have to kill them" "You will never be free" "Kill them" "They deserve it" "They don't trust you" "KILL THE-"_

"Aurai?" She recoiled her hand like she had been burnt by the page and whipped her head to the side to see Laxus looking at her confused. "Are you okay?"

"Uh.. Yea, I'm totally fine. Uh… Were you saying something?" She slowly took a step away from the counter, as to not raise suspicion.

Laxus grunted and pulled a paper out of his back pocket, "I was just asking Errol if he's been noticing any dark guild occurrences around here lately or anything. I was about to show him the drawing."

Aurai looked over to the old man who was eyeing her suspiciously. "Oh, yea the drawing, okay."

"Have you seen this guild crest before?" Laxus unfolded the paper and laid it out in front of the man. Aurai saw Errol's eyes widen a fraction.

"So you have?" She stepped up to the counter and stared right into his face to see if he was going to try to lie about it.

"Wait here," He said after a long gap of silence, he got off of his stool and walked into a back room. Aurai and Laxus looked at each other in confusion as they listened to him rummaging through things. He finally came back with a large book in his arms. He let the heavy book fall onto the counter with a thump and opened up the dusty pages to somewhere in the middle. After flipping a few more pages he got to where he wanted and pointed a finger to the page.

Aurai and Laxus leaned over the counter to look at what he was pointing to. It was the picture Aurai had seen on the flag behind the mystery man. "What is it?" She almost whispered.

"They are the wings of Kaze-akuma, the winged demon of Yomi." Errol's face was grave. "This demon was awoken a hundred years ago, it slaughtered many people before it went back into dormancy. I overheard some people talking in an alleyway that there's a dark guild, called Black Sun that's trying to awaken this demon again to invoke the presence of Zeref."

Aurai and Laxus shared a look of worry. The old man went on to say that he did a little digging himself and he found out that Black Sun was directing some smaller dark guilds to get everything in order to awaken Kaze-akuma.

"There are three small dark guilds acting under Black sun, I only know of two of them, however. They are Moon Blood and Dark Wing. Unfortunately, I don't know their locations." The old man closed the big book and looked at both Laxus and Aurai with a very serious expression. "You must not allow them to awaken this demon. It is made to destroy all life."

"Well, we'll see how it fairs against me," Aurai said suddenly, determination flaring in her eyes, gaining curiosity from Errol and amusement from Laxus.

"What do you mean?" The old man asked her, incredulously, "this demon is too powerful to defeat even for the most talented of mages."

"I'm not just some mage, sir." She said almost offended. "I'm a sky devil slayer. Slaying demons is what I'm here for, right?"

Laxus laughed and put a hand on her shoulder, "that's right, I'll leave the demon to you. Thank you for the info, Errol." He pulled out a few jewel and left it on the counter.

They walked down the street that they came in from. "Too bad we have no information on where the guilds are yet," Aurai sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

She didn't notice Laxus taking a deep breath, but she did notice his walking pace slow to a more relaxed one. She looked up at him, the sun was shining on his golden hair. He felt her eyes on him and he looked down to her, surprised by the lack of anything other than curious expression on her face. She looked to be in a daze, and Laxus would have thought that she was just spacing out but when he listened closely, he could hear her heart rate beating faster than normal. Realizing what he just found out, he cleared his throat awkwardly, causing her to jump and blush.

"S-so, uh… Should we go to the other pawn shops now?" Her head was turned away from the blond, so she didn't see the smile that was there.

"Yep. We go to the other pawn shops now."


End file.
